The present invention relates to generally a material shaping and positioning apparatus, material positioning and shaping system, and method, for use in shaping of materials such as for cutting gems, grinding or sharpening tools, and grinding lenses.
Currently, when a workpiece (e.g., a lens, a scissors, a gem, a cuticle cutter, etc.) is positioned precisely for material shaping (e.g., sharpening, faceting, cutting, grinding, making, manufacturing, etc.) it is inaccurate and slow to both precisely position the workpiece in a general manner for work thereon, and to then precisely move and position the material workpiece symmetrically about various axes of rotation for further material shaping. Additionally, precise shaping of materials, such as gem faceting or the copying of gem facets from an existing gem to a new gem, is currently tedious and not readily possible when attempting to facet a gem with an odd number of faces.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved device, system, and method of positioning and shaping of materials.
The present invention provides an apparatus, positioning system and method for positioning and shaping materials. One can position and shape materials using the invention for activities such as cutting gems, grinding or sharpening tools, and grinding lenses.
A first general aspect of the invention provides an apparatus comprising:
a positioning head for a material forming device, said positioning head having a first section and a second section, wherein at least one of said first section and said second section includes at least one depression for rotatable positioning along a path.
A second general aspect of the invention provides an apparatus comprising:
a material forming device;
a positioning head, operatively positioned with respect to said material forming device, said positioning head having a first section and a second section, wherein at least one of said first section and said second section includes at least one depression for rotatable positioning along a path.
A third general aspect of the invention provides an apparatus comprising:
a first section, including a guide; and
a second section, including a follower, wherein said follower is operatively connected to said guide, and wherein the position of said second section, relative to said first section, is dependent upon the position of said follower relative to said guide.
A fourth general aspect of the invention provides an apparatus comprising:
a material shaping device; and
a positioning system operatively attached to said material shaping device, said positioning system comprising a first section, including a guide, and a second section, including a follower, wherein said follower is operatively connected to said guide, and wherein the position of said second section, relative to said first section, is dependent upon the position of said follower relative to said guide, further wherein said positioning system has at least four degrees of freedom.
A fifth general aspect of the invention provides a method comprising:
providing a positioning head having a first section and a second section;
rotating at least one of the first section and second section with respect to each other along a path, wherein said path includes a depression.
The foregoing and other features of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of various embodiments of the invention.